News

Today, YW Boston, along with the rest of the country, learned of the decision of the Supreme Court of the United States in the cases of SFFA (Students for Fair Admissions) v. UNC Chapel-Hill and SFFA v. Harvard to ban the consideration of race in college admissions. This overrules 50 years of precedent that has worked to promote equality in our education and diversity in our workplaces.

As Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson wrote in her dissent, “Given the lengthy history of state-sponsored race-based preferences in America, to say that anyone is now victimized if a college considers whether that legacy of discrimination has unequally advantaged its applicants fails to acknowledge the well-documented ‘intergenerational transmission of inequality’ that still plagues our citizenry.”

Unfortunately, this ruling is not an isolated incident. It has been part of a broader trend, where efforts have been underway for years to suppress diverse perspectives and limit access to comprehensive educational experiences to all students. We continue to witness attempts to suppress curricula and dictate what students are allowed to read, learn, and share about their own stories — a strategized attack on the voices and narratives of students of color and LGBTQIA+ students.

At YW Boston, our goal is to amplify the voices of those historically marginalized, especially women and girls of color. I am a proud graduate of Harvard College and Columbia Business School. And, although my attendance at each institution was questioned due to my race not only by fellow students but also in professional settings post-graduation, I know the value that my perspective and lived experience as a Black woman brought to my peers and appreciate what I learned from my peers who identified as white. It is how I know that everyone benefits when decisions are made with diverse perspectives and lived experiences incorporated in the process.

According to data presented in the case, if Harvard stops considering race in admissions decisions, the number of Black and Hispanic students on campus will likely fall by 1,000 within four years, compared to a total undergraduate enrollment of around 7,000, as cases at UC Berkeley and UCLA have not seen underrepresented student populations recover from California’s decision to end affirmative action in college admission years ago.

As an organization that works to eliminate racism, we are beyond disappointed in this ruling and its impact on the young people of our country and their futures. Additionally, we are concerned with how this ruling will impact the protections against racial discrimination and promotion of workplace inclusion across the country. Institutions and employers with a less diverse pipeline will not have access to a more profitable workplace and will lose out on the valuable inclusion of a robust workplace culture.

We believe that our country prospers when we are inclusive of all skills, talents, and backgrounds. Without affirmative action in our schools and deliberate diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts in the workplace, we lose the immense benefits of a representative and equitable economy and society. No matter the Supreme Court’s decision, YW Boston will continue to work tirelessly to promote peace, justice, freedom, and dignity for all, especially those who are underrepresented and historically marginalized. We implore you to join our efforts and practice equitable strategies and programming in your organizations, classrooms, and communities.

To young people out there who are wondering what this means for them: Please know that you matter, your voice matters, and you are not alone. We need your thoughts, your stories, and your perspectives. We show up for your leadership, gifts, and talents. You do belong, we all belong.

As former First Lady Michelle Obama said, “Today is a reminder that we’ve got to do the work not just to enact policies that reflect our values of equity and fairness, but to truly make those values real in all of our schools, workplaces, and neighborhoods.”

In solidarity,

Beth Chandler
President and CEO